Pérez masterful in Colorado before rain interrupts historic start

DENVER -- By some counts, the Marlins hit the bottom of their rocky season when Colorado swept them in Miami June 2-4. Colorado was 9-50 entering the series, and the Marlins finished the three days 23-37, but since they are 48-43, with Tuesday’s 6-5 win at Coors Field putting them nine games under .500 with 11 contests left on the schedule.

The Rockies managed just one hit against starter Eury Pérez, a leadoff single in the third from first baseman Blaine Crim. Pérez became the third pitcher in history to throw five or more scoreless innings at Coors Field while allowing one or fewer hits and walking none, joining Logan Webb (Sept. 21, 2022) and Randy Johnson (May 15, 2007).

“Throwing the first pitch for a strike, that was the key of this game,” Pérez said through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “Staying on top of each count, attacking every hitter and trying to get out of that inning as fast as I could.”

Pérez’s sweeper proved to be particularly effective on an unusually humid night in Colorado.

“It was working perfectly,” Pérez said. “The movement was great. I was able to control the command of the pitch a little bit outside for a ball, if I was chasing a strikeout.”

The Rockies' only other baserunner against Pérez came in the fourth when Hunter Goodman took Jakob Marsee to the center-field wall, where he dropped the ball for a two-base error.

“Tonight was probably the sharpest his breaking balls have been,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “His ability to command the count and be in control was the big thing. You see what he's capable of.”

Pérez left the game after a 61-minute rain delay in the middle of the sixth, with six strikeouts on his line.

“I felt I was going to go deep in the game,” Pérez admitted. “I was feeling great. I was getting a lot of support from my teammates. We were competing out there. I got a couple of defensive plays there to help me. I felt like I could just go really, really strong.”

The defense was perhaps even stronger on the other side of the diamond, with Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle robbing Dane Myers of a pair of hits. He made a diving catch while running in the fourth and a leaping catch at the wall to pull a Myers home run back onto the field in the eighth.

“Doyle always gets me,” Myers said after his first game back from the 10-day IL. “He's one of the better center fielders in the game, if not the best. He plays hard and saves his pitchers a lot, so hats off to him.”

An unusual third inning gave the Marlins a lead they never relinquished, despite Colorado having the tying run on third in the bottom of the ninth. Rockies ace Kyle Freeland faced the minimum through the first seven batters before hitting Joey Wiemer with one out. Javier Sanoja then bounced a grounder off the bag at second for a single up the middle on what could have turned into an inning-ending double play without the unnatural hop.

The Marlins doubled their lead in the sixth, driving Freeland from the game with singles from Heriberto Hernández and Eric Wagaman to open the inning, a one-out, two-run double to center from Myers, and a two-out run-scoring double to right from Sanoja. Hernández has reached base in 16 of his last 17 games.

Wagaman had his fourth consecutive multi-hit night and is 9-for-16 in the span.

Tyler Phillips, in his first game back from paternity leave, pitched two innings of shutout relief, allowing one walk and no hits while striking out one.

Michael Peterson came on for the eighth and let two Rockies reach base in the same inning for the first time Tuesday on a pair of singles before Mickey Moniak launched a 417-foot homer to right, cutting the lead to three. Peterson gave up another hit and a walk before giving way to Ronny Henriquez, who induced an inning-ending groundout with the potential tying run at the plate.

The eighth-inning runs ended a 22-inning scoreless streak from the Marlins ‘pen, its longest streak since going 23 innings without a run in July 2010.